Dubai

Im in Dubai!

It is amazing here. It is THE cleanest city I have ever seen, the streets are as wide as highways, and the architecture is amazing. Dubai boast the worlds tallest tower (I think Singapore has a taller building in the works), man made islands, spectacular hotels and a very slick, fast and clean infrastructure.

People are very friendly in general, most everyone I've spoken to understands English it seems, but I've only asked for directions from people who have limited English. Asking for directions has proved to be a challenge, but usually ends in me and the person I asked laughing because we realize there is no chance of understanding each other. Understand that I've only been here two days and am not trying to make any judgments or sweeping generalizations.

The clothes people wear in Dubai are nothing short of amazing. Most of the population is dressed in western clothing, but everyone is in button up shirts and suits, and women dress very conservatively. The other folks dress in traditional Arab or Muslim attire. It is really cool to see women and men in traditional dress. Also a bit strange for my western eyes to see people in traditional dress walking around a shopping mall and stopping by stores like Ralph Lauren and Columbia Sportswear.

In case you didn't know the difference in traditional Muslim attire for women, this illustration may help. Many Americans think the headscarf is called a burka, but it is actually called a hijab. The burka is the black cloak with face scarf. Women wear headscarves based on their personal Muslim beliefs, but many (in cities like Dubai anyway) also accessorize their hijab and assert individuality and fashion sense. Women are not forced to wear them, especially in Dubai, and these clothes do not oppress women at all. Just my two cents, and am speaking about Dubai, not the rest of the world.

The Arab "robe" that men wear is traditional but is not necessarily connected to religion, it is simply traditional and works well for comfort in the desert climate. They do have quite a few variations though. They look very regal and very comfortable to boot.

I read a nice blog post about traditional dress, and if interested, it is worth a read. Although I cannot vouch for her accuracy, it is a good read.

I'm not the authority on the subject of Middle Eastern Religion or culture, but did a little reading and wanted to pass on the basic info for those interested. Feel free to let me know if I left something important out.

Lets move beyond the clothes now...

Here is a view of the Burj Dubai. It is currently the worlds tallest Building, although Singapore is building one taller I believe. It is approximately 2,625 feet tall. In other terms it is a quarter mile tall, or twice the height of the Empire State Building in New York.

Next to the Burj Dubai is the Dubai Mall. It has some spectacular fountains outside which put on a show to music much like the Fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. I would say the Bellagio does a better job syncing the fountains to the music, but this fountain is still pretty spectacular.

 The mall is crazy big (4th largest in the world) and has an aquarium, ice skating rink, a theme park, a five star hotel, and even a grocery store. Its not just big though, it is very high tech, it even has a retractable roof over part of it. It has over 1200 stores, some of which are huge themselves.  I was wondering where the Dubai Mall stood as far as the worlds biggest malls, and my findings were surprising, if you are interested in that sort of thing read this page.

Part of the Aquarium.

 Ice skating rink in the mall.

 This is a fountain.

Not sure what is going on with this arcade game but you sit on a toilet and shoot at feet with water.

Some of you know by now that I like to eat weird things while I travel... so I couldn't resist this "fruit bread." It is a very small loaf, and at first glance appears to have jello in the bread itself. So I looked at the ingredients, and the last ingredient is listed as "tutti fruty." Besides the classic song by little richard, I had never heard of "tutti fruty" before so I bought it to give it a go.

 After eating it, still not sure exactly what it is. It tastes and resembles very soft Jujy Fruit candies and raisins all packed into a tiny loaf of buttery bread. It was tasty, but a bit on the dry side.

Its only been two days in Dubai, more to come later.